Washington.
An official from Joe Biden’s team was temporarily suspended on Friday after allegedly threatening to ‘destroy’ a journalist who inquired about his private life.
The Deputy Speaker of the White House TJ DuckloThe 32-year-old was suspended for a week without pay, said Biden’s press secretary Jen Psaki.
According to Vanity Fair magazine, Ducklo called the Politico reporter Tara Palmeri after she started asking questions about her romantic relationship with the Axios journalist, a rival of Politico, Alexi McCammond
i will destroy youDucklo threatened Palmeri in a phone call shortly after Biden’s inauguration as president on January 20.
According to Vanity Fair, Ducklo “made derogatory and misogynistic comments” about Palmeri, calling her “jealous.”
“TJ Ducklo has apologized to the reporter, with whom he had a heated conversation about his personal life,” Psaki said in a post on Twitter.
“He is the first to know that this is not the president’s standard of conduct,” he added.
In addition to a one-week suspension, Psaki said Ducklo will no longer partner with Politico reporters in their role at the White House
The now deputy spokesperson was the national press secretary for the 2020 Biden campaign.
Politico Playbook, the Washington politics and gossip bulletin Palmeri works for, reported this week that McCammond had made public in November that she was dating Ducklo.
One day after taking office as president, Biden he warned his staff at the White House against treating others disrespectfully.
“I’m not kidding when I say this: if you work with me and I hear that you are disrespectful to another colleague, belittling someone, I will fire you on the spot.